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Bird Toys

SAFE, PARROT-TESTED TOYS

Toys are the boon of your bird's mental & physical well-being. We parrot-test all of our toys so that you can shop with confidence. Find a range of fun toys that stimulate your birds need to chew, climb, problem-solve, preen and more.

"I received my toys today and my CAG is "attacking" the babble ball. She is so attentive to the sound that it plays. Great supplies u have! I'll be back to buy soon!" LN

Birds have different preferences and play styles that change with time. While some species have more predictable play styles, each bird is an individual and has bird toy preferences. Learning your bird's personality and preferred play style will help you choose toys that it will actually enjoy.

Lots of factors affect a birds play style and know that your birds play style may change with the seasons or as it matures. Things like your birds overall health, fitness and personality all go into play. The play styles listed below were adapted from the book Parrot-Toys & Play Areas, by Carol D'Arezzo and Lauren Shannon-Nunn (2000)

HIGH ENERGY

High energy birds are like a hyperactive child. Always on the move, these birds tend to be boisterous and a bit of a rascal. They pretend fight with their toys and may even try to boss you around when this overbearing behavior, if you tolerate it. These parrots need sturdy, durable toys that withsatand abuse.

You'll see high energy birds flapping and climbing all over their toys and even squawking at them as though they are scolding them. These birds enjoy interactive and noise-making toys. Give your bird toys that encourage activity and exercise. Swings, hanging gyms and talking or interactive toys. Amazons, Macaws, Cockatoos, Lories and Caiques tend to be high energy birds.

LOW ENERGY

Low energy birds are kind of like a couch potato. They appreciate soft preening toys that they can nibble on and snuggle up to. Not known for excessive activity, these birds prefer having soft toys within easy reach of their favorite perch. These "thinkers and observers" pay attention to detail and they select a few softer materials to enjoy and mouth.

While they may chew soft woods such as balsa or pine, or our line of pine cone toys low energy birds are easily entertained with a few preferred soft textures. African Grey Parrots, Eclectus and Poicephalus tend to be low energy birds.

MECHANIC

Mechanics derive enjoyment by taking things apart. They unscrew quick-links and dismantle toy parts or anything else they can get their beak on. They don't necessarily "play" with the toy parts but get pleasure out of interacting with removable parts.

Mechanics get a great deal of satisfaction out of opening their food and water doors and dumping the dishes. It's hard to know if they enjoy the activity or your reaction more! Start mechanics out with simple interactive toys and foraging puzzles. As they become more proficient, work them up to more complicated puzzles. Toys that allow these birds to mainipuate their environment and exercise their intellect at the same time will get a lot of use. Any intellectual challenge will bring these birds a lot of joy.

LUMBERJACK

Wood is the favorite word of the lumberjack. Lumberjacks are very beak, chew and destroy oriented and need a constant supply of things to splinter and destroy.

They'll chew their perches to toothpicks if you don't supply enough wood toys. We've seen large lumberjacks demonish their wood playstands. Keeping up with their destructive nature can be a challenge. Larger lumberjacks may chew each individual wood part on toys, while others prefer only the soft wood textures. But, the keyword, here, is wood.

Consider large packs of wood toy parts in the wood density that your bird prefers. Place parts in a foraging bucket filled substrate such as crinkled paper hiding wood parts and a few nuts inside. Birdy Brackets allow you to make a thick wood 2 x 4 perch for your lumberjack to destroy. Invest in a good broom while you're at it! Learn about bird safe wood & density here.

WEAVERS

Artistic weavers enjoy leafy, natural toys with strips of palm leaf or other fiberous materials that they can weave in and out of cage bars, plastic chain or whatever. This weaving activity may be reminiscent of making a nest, it's hard to tell. Planet Pleasures makes a wide variety of toys that "weavers" enjoy.

COLLECTORS

Collectors are like the "squirrel group" of birds, always dismantling toys for the small parts. Provide collectors with a place to put their goodies like a foraging bucket or toy chest. They love marbella beads, wood parts or even chipped wood. Foot toys with smaller parts delight the collector.

TRAPEZE ARTIST

The trapeze artist can contort their body and hang by one toe, just like one of the Ringling Brothers. Their torso surely must look like the six pack abs of the bird world, the way they twirl about their perch or cage door. These birds would just as soon hang by a toenail than stand on two feet. Offer the trapeze artist swings, bungees, and hanging gyms to perform acrobats on.

SHY SPY

Quiet little shy spies hide out in a Snugglie or box while sort of yearning for your attention with longing looks. Sensitive, they need the protective nature of a "nest like" area to get a sense of safety from their busy world. These birds love huts, snugglies, boxes or whatever else will offer a safe haven when they need it.

LOVEY DOVEY

Lovey Dovey would prefer to ride about on your shoulder all day chewing your shirt rather than a toy, but if that isn't possible a cage mate or a preening toy will do. Lovey Dovey is not a toy destroyer, but rather a cuddler that enjoys having a soft, fiber based toy swish up against their body like a bird hug. Scritches to the head and out of cage time where you can stimulate little lovey are needed, as are cotton or preening style toys that offer the "hugs" this bird needs. Get your lovey dovey a birdie necklace.

What is Foraging?

Foraging, by definition, is searching and working for a food supply. It provides both mental stimulation and physical exercise. And, birds being flock animals get a great deal of socialization out of their foraging activities. Research has shown that birds would rather forage for food rather than eat what is readily available.

Your pet bird's cage is its rainforest world, so it needs toys that provide the mental and physical stimulation. Sadly, these toys are usually absent in a captive cage life. Providing a set of foraging bird toys are one component to offering your bird the mental and physical stimulation it needs to be happy pet that is fun to be around.

What Constitutes a “Set of Bird Foraging Toys?”

Ideally, you’d want to set your birds cage up so that it has several types of foraging toys that, when used together, require him to “hunt” or rummage for food. Birds that have food effortlessly available in cups and dishes never experience the instinctual need to hunt for food - so they tend to become lethargic and slothful. These bored behaviors often evolve into behavior problems such as screaming, aggression or feather plucking.

What are the Benefits of Foraging Toys?

Feeding your bird mostly or strictly from foraging toys has a ton of benefits, although it may be a little time consuming for you. But your caged bird will have an opportunity to forage for food.

Captive birds that forage for their food experience much less boredom.

Did you know that a parrot that feeds from a traditional dish only spends 15 – 30 minutes a day with feeding activity? That is astounding when you consider that wild birds spend about 4 -6 HOURS foraging for food each day. Wild birds don’t have time to get bored.

Rummaging Style foraging toys promote exercise.

As your bird chews through soft materials and rummages through bird safe substrate, it has to move many muscles. Not only does chewing and rummaging take up time, but it exercises the body. The bird has to manipulate items by moving them with its feet or beak. It may have to hold a bird safe box with one foot while chewing through it and rummaging to find treats with its beak. Your bird will naturally develop these skills as time goes on.

Puzzle Style Bird Foraging toys promote mental and physical exercise.

Occupy your pet bird's mind by offering food in refillable, bird safe puzzles. Your bird will have to figure out how to use a variety of puzzles to obtain its daily intake. Try having 2-3 foraging puzzles in the cage at a time located in areas where your healthy bird has to be a trapeze artist to manipulate the moving parts -just like wild birds do. Promotesearching for and finding food, doing whatever work is necessary to obtain food and using their natural skills to manipulate small items. In time, your bird will become a self-sufficient forager.

Budgeting time.

Your pet must also learn to budget enough time to satisfy its appetite, which may increase as it burns more calories to obtain food. If it spends its time feather plucking or screaming for no reason, it will be a little hungry.

Feeding via Bird Foraging Stations

Of course, you want to condition your parrot to obtain its diet via foraging toys over a period of time, while monitoring its weight to insure that it is getting an adequate diet. Make sure that your bird has adequately transitioned to obtaining food from foraging toys before removing food dishes. Keep in mind that as you make the transition to foraging feeding, your bird has to become a little scholar in the ways of birds. Changing the habit of easy dish feeding to that of sharpening intellectual skills and conditioning its body to get at the food will take some time.

Research attests that parrots are incredibly intelligent and curious with strong needs to chew, explore and mouth things. And, with two zygodactyl feet (two toes pointing forward and two backwards) and a beak that is used like a third arm, our birds are truly trapeze artists that are completely capable of manipulating toys to obtain their daily caloric intake.

Two Styles of Foraging Toys

Caitec has developed two styles of foraging toys to satisfy a birds need to rummage and hunt for food.

There are several manufacturers that make fun, shreddable boxes or toys that you can hide treats in. You just have to use your imagination on some of them. Purchase bird toys from reputable companies so that you can trust that the glues and paper are bird safe. Fill up the toys with dry food like pellets, Goldenfeast foods, and nuts. You never want to use moist or cooked bird food as mixing moist food with paper products will grow bacteria and fungus. Observe your toys regularly to determine if it is becoming moldy.

Once again, you'll want to use dry foods in refilable puzzles. The last thing you want to do is make your bird sick from foraging. Puzzle style foraging toys rare in the intermediate to advanced level of difficulty range. Your bird has to think about how to get the food or treat. More advanced styles of toys require a bird to perform a two step process to obtain the desired food.

Intermediate Bird Foraging Toys / Birds Learning to Think:

Intermediate foraging involves a one step process where a bird has to retrieve visible items inside of a container, for instance a see through container where you bird has to figure out how to open the container to retrieve the desired object.

Toys: Foraging Wheel, Buffet Ball with Skewer

Advanced Foraging Devices / Birds Learning to Problem-Solve:

Advanced foraging toys include two step or more puzzles filled with food or toys your bird having to figure out how to retrieve, i.e. whereas a task such as untying knots allows a door to open thereby making food or toys retrievable.

Toys: Mastermind,

Enriching Bird Toys that Satisfy a Parrots Instinctual Needs

Enriching bird toys are designed with a parrots instincts in mind. One of the smartest animals on earth, pet birds need toys that satisfy emotional, physical, social and intellectual needs. Foraging is one way to enrich your pet birds life. We've got a ton of safe enriching bird toys to encourage foraging and solving puzzles for all sized parrots.

What exactly constitutes parrot enrichment?

Wild parrots occupy themselves for hours scratching, digging, chewing and pulling away vines, grasses, leaves and earthy rainforest debris just to get at their favorite bird food. The activity of trying to figure out where the bird food is and how to get the bird food is an instinctive need for captive or caged pet birds, too. Traditionally, we've thought we were meeting birds thrive on working their bodies to get at a few bites of food. Most caged birds don't have to move very far from the perch or stretch their minds at all to get their food. Bored birds make for uncompatible birds.

At BirdSupplies.com, we love bird toys that can be adapted to foraging toys. Some of the bird toys in this department, are crammed full of bird safe foraging substrate that you can hide dried fruits & vegatables in as well as tasty nuts. Provide at least 2-3 foraging bird toys in each bird cage to foster intellectual and physical exercise throughout the day.